Supreme Court: Adult Children Lose Immigration Status

In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court made a ruling Monday that affects the immigration status of thousands of adult children of immigrants. The court ruled that children who have turned 21 while their parents waited for permanent resident status are not entitled to the same status as minor children as they wait for their own visas. Instead, the adult children must “go to the back of the line” to apply for permanent resident status, effectively nullifying the waiting periods they encountered as minors.

Immigration Status Changes Take Years

The case stemmed from immigration status of Rosalina Cuellar de Osorio, an immigrant from El Salvador who waited in line for a visa with her then-13-year-old son. By the time she received her visa, her son had already turned 21. Immigration officials ordered that the young man start the application process over again, as he no longer qualified as a minor child under the previous application.

Immigration Status Ruling Splits Justices

The recent ruling on the immigration status of adult children did not just split the justices along traditional party lines. Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, both appointees by President Obama, came down on different sides of the issue. Writing for the majority opinion, Justice Kagan stated that the current law holds the place for the child of a green card holder, but not for children of parents of a different immigration status. In her dissent, Justice Sotomayor wrote that the current law should allow adult children to maintain their place in the line for permanent visas.

Law Causes Confusion in Immigration Status

The immigration status lawsuit arose from the 2002 Child Status Protection Act. The law was intended to keep the children of those who had applied for permanent resident status to maintain their place in line. Attorneys for the Obama administration stated that the law should only apply in a narrow range of cases, as a broader application would allow young adults to jump ahead of others waiting in line. Immigration reform advocates argued that the additional wait time for adult children would be less than a year in most cases, whereas forcing adult children to the back of the line would add years to the process.

Source: Business Week

Know Your Rights Regarding Immigration Status

To find out how we can help your understanding of current immigration status, contact us today. Our intake team will quickly connect you to an immigration status attorney to take down the details of your case. You can also fill out the “Free Case Evaluation” form at the top of this page.